It Has Always Been You
by JE Boswell
Summary: Rhydian gets a chance to tell Maddy how he really feels about her. Maddy/Rhydian (Wolfblood belongs to CBBC.)


The night was cold and the wind shrieked over the whole of Stonybridge, shaking the trees and rustling the leaves, scattering them across the ground. Maddy didn't care for the cold or the wind that threatened to push her off the wall. She was too interested watching the trees dancing wildly, the weaker leaves tumbling and spinning to the ground before being blown away by the wind. She smiled as the familiar scents of the country floated in. The smell of the earth and the freshly cut grass, the sound of the rustling trees and the clear skies, always reminded her that she was home. _Home, _she thought fondly gazing up at the half-moon. There was a snap of a twig and Maddy's senses were on fire, pointing her to the spot of the noise. She jumped down from the wall and faced the house, readying herself for any attack from wild wolfbloods. Luckily, Rhydian was stood in a frozen position, the broken twig under his foot. When she spotted him he moved, cursing the stick for making such a noise and ruining the fun he could have had by scaring Maddy.

"Trying to sneak up on us?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Rhydian replied immediately. He gave a shrug and a chuckle, adding, "Okay, maybe I was a bit."

Maddy laughed with him, relaxing now that she knew she wasn't in any immediate danger. "You should know not to creep up on a wolfblood."

"But a tame wolfblood…" He held his hands out as if he were weighing the possibilities of something he couldn't completely decide on.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, watching him.

He shook his head and put his hand in his pockets, giving her a playful look. He glanced up at the moon that was watching their every move from its place in the night sky. "I always thought that the moon looked more mysterious like that," he admitted, gesturing to it.

"What do you mean?" Maddy asked, not fully understanding.

"It looks more like us," he explained. "Maybe not in the physical sense but it's hiding half of who it is, just like we are."

She'd never thought of it like that before. To her, the moon was just the moon. It was beautiful, of course, but Rhydian had obviously put more thought into it. "Well, you've got a point there," she sighed.

The air went quiet between them for a moment. An owl called out in the distance and the wind's shrieking died down, allowing the animals of the night to call out to their friends.

"Can I ask you something?" Rhydian asked, shuffling about.

Maddy watched his demeanour change but didn't question him. He'd reveal his true intentions soon enough. _He usually does, _she thought, hoping this was one of them instances. "Go on."

He took his time asking her. He tried to speak but no words would come out, at least not the right ones, the ones that would convey what he felt. In the end he settled with, "Will you dance with me?"

"Dance with you?" Maddy was beyond confused. Her heart was hammering and she felt like it would burst from her chest at any given second. She wasn't expecting it to be a big question, but she certainly wasn't anticipating that. "If you want, but there's no music."  
Rhydian took out his phone and a moment later, a slow tune was playing to the calming wind. He held out his hand and Maddy took it, letting him lead the dance.

"I never took you for a dancer," she said.

He smiled sweetly and chuckled. "I wouldn't get your hopes up," he told her as he span her under his arm. "I'm not exactly a great dancer."

"Well, I'm not the greatest of dancers either," Maddy admitted, "not without the wolf, so I suppose we'll fail at this together."

"Together," he replied tenderly, watching her blush. "You know, I've never seen you blush before."

Maddy could feel her cheeks reddening against her will. She looked down embarrassed but he simply lifted her chin up again to look at him. She noticed he was blushing a little too, and she couldn't help but smile.

He put a hand on her cheek gently, watching her blush redden beneath his fingers. He put his forehead on hers, his heart beats getting faster and faster, and leaned in a little closer.

"What about Jana?" Maddy found herself asking, a sudden pang of guilt hitting her. The girl seemed quite taken with Rhydian and she didn't know how he felt about her.

"What about her?" he replied.

"I thought that maybe you and she were…" She stopped, feeling stupid, and looked away.

"Maddy," Rhydian said softly, "Jana's a friend, _just _a friend."

She looked back up, hearing the certainty in his voice and wanted to see if that reflected on his face. His brow was furrowed a little but the redness in his cheeks was still there, and she could see all of the seriousness in his eyes.

"It has always been you, Maddy, and it always will be." He hoped that he hadn't just made a complete fool of himself but the words had seemed to tumble from his lips, as if he was speaking from his heart, not his head.

Maddy bit her lip. She knew what she wanted to say in reply but formulating an actual sentence suddenly became difficult. She took in a breath, steadying her racing heart as best she could, and said, "Do you mean it?" Her voice was a squeak, her breath catching in her throat as she spoke.

"Yes," Rhydian said. "I wanted to tell you sooner, I wanted to… I just… Things kept getting in the way and… I'm saying it now because…"

"It's okay," she assured him, letting out the breath she'd been holding. "Really, it's okay." She gave him a smile, just to reassure him that he hadn't done anything wrong in her eyes and he had no need to explain himself.

He looked into her eyes for a moment, leaning in closer and…

"Maddy!" Emma's voice rang from the doorway. "Rhydian!"

Maddy drew back and Rhydian let her go. He grabbed the phone and turned the music off as quickly as he could.

"For the record, it has always be you too," she said, holding onto his hand just for a moment before turning away and heading back towards the house.


End file.
